Chapter Text
"Pardon?!" Spencer blinks, his mouth falling agape.
"Do you like him?" Jade asks again.
"No! Where'd you get that bloody idea from??" he denies immediately.
It was obvious that Jade didn't quite believe him, especially with the look she was giving him now.
"Well, your body language is weird, and you can't look at him, from what i've seen."
"It's purely embarrassment! I do NOT like him." Spencer protests, not budging from denial.
Jade stares at him once more, attempting to read him.
"You sure?"
"YES!" ....
Back at home, Spencer hummed boredly. He had already finished his workload, so instead he had been studying to put himself in good hands for when the exams came up. Even with that though, he still wasn't satisfied. He was bored, incredibly bored.
Yesterday felt like a fever dream, where did he even come from? he was sure he didn't like Diego romantically, they were practically strangers. Wouldn't that be impossible? Even so, Spencer found it hard to get the man out of his mind, and that enough was giving him a headache.
"Spence, I'm heading out to the zoo again." Jade informed him, her notepad grasped in one hand.
That piqued his interest, and was an opening to actually do something.
"Can I come?"
"You wanna come? Again?" Jade raised a brow, "i'm only staying for the event, not the zoo."
"Well...this time I have nothing to work on, resulting in me having absolutely nothing to do." Spencer replies.
Jade thought about it, having Spencer tag along wasn't that big of deal, it was the tickets that were the problem.
"Okay, you can come. Except this time you're buying your own ticket." "Deal." he'd smile, leaving his tons and tons of study guides behind as he followed Jade out the door. ....
At the zoo (gigantic by the way), Spencer glanced around, facts listed everywhere around the place. He walked alongside Jade, making their way down to their destination of where the speaker would perform.
"Is it a different speaker this time?" Spencer asks, walking up the steps to their row.
"Yeah. We wouldn't listen to the same person twice. I'm here for more knowledge." Jade responds, leading him.
If he was honest, Spencer was curious to know if Diego was here. Not that he really cared! Of course. Just..curiosity...no reason why he felt a small spark of disappointment at the matter.. Pushing that thought down, him and Jade took their seats, waiting for the event to be displayed. A fragrance of seawater lingers in the air, making the environment slightly content.
.
.
.
Yeah..It hasn't even been 10 minutes and Spencer quickly became bored.
"I'm just gonna walk around instead.." he'd mutter to Jade.
"I assumed you'd say that, go ahead. I'll text you in an hour." Jade sighs.
Leaving his seat, he'd walk around, taking in each enclosure. His mouth shaped into a thin line at the sight of couples and such, for reasons he'd rather not talk about, it made him roll his eyes. Gross. He observed each species, feeling quite happy he decided to come. He's never been much of a nature guy, but it was nice to experience once in a while. His thoughts came to an end when he suddenly bumped into someone, knocking him back a bit.
"Whoops- sorry." he apologized, dusting himself off as he looked up. His heart stopped when his eyes landed on the person. He recognized him all too well.
"No problem amigo! Nice seeing you here!" Diego gave him a warm smile.
His breath caught in his throat but he managed to utter something.
"Uh..yeah, you too. Happy to see you too." Spencer pauses, recalculating his words before fixing it, "I mean!- Cool seeing you again, haha.." he stammered, forcing out an awkward laugh.
Diego didn't think anything of it however, he just smiled on.
"Ah, right. I forgot, I haven't caught your name yet." Diego hummed.
"It's Spencer," he'd reply, "I already know you." he mumbles, motioning to Diego's name card.
Diego chuckled in reply, "Where's your other friend? Did you come alone?" he'd ask.
"Who? Jade? No, we came together, I just got bored of the speaker so i'm wandering around." Spencer shrugs.
"Amazing! I can stick with you for the time being, sometimes people tend to forget seeing certain enclosures. I'll give you a tour." Diego said, his friendly demeanor unwavering.
"It's fine, I don't n-"
"We can start here." Diego pointed ahead, making Spencer frown.
For most of that hour, Spencer had been with Diego (much to his disdain). It wasn't all that bad, the big friendly dork just talked about animals most of the time. Diego rambled about cultures too, asking Spencer all types of questions.
"Where's your favorite place you've been too?" Diego hums gleefully.
"My family isn't big on the whole traveling ordeal. I've only ever stayed in the UK." Spencer replies, his tone a bit dry.
"No worries, maybe you'll travel sometime," he'd assure him, "why not come on one of my tours sometime? One's coming out, I could even give you a discount."
Spencer paused, his expression softening.
"A discount? But..why? we've only met like.. a week ago, maybe two?" Spencer muttered.
"If you've never traveled, I'll take your word for it. If you got the chance it could be a great experience for you." Diego waved him off dismissively. "it's not a problem. I'd be glad to let you in on the fun of traveling."
Spencer stared up at him before averting his eyes away, a small distinct snort leaving him.
"You're way too kind, it's...admirable to put it." he'd shake his head.
"Well, It doesn't hurt to be kind." Diego chuckles, shrugging.
The two talked and talked until it was time to get back to Jade, Spencer walked back alone since Diego had gotten caught up with a coworker mid-way.
"So how was it?" Jade asks, closing up her notepad as she met back up with Spencer.
"it was fine, we missed out on a few enclosures so the next time we come back I'll have to show you." He replied, adjusting his glasses.
"Ready to leave?"
"Yeah, I just need to go to the bathroom real quick, be right back." Jade nods and watches as Spencer walks off.
She waits around, re-reading her notes in the meantime. Her thoughts were interrupted when someone called out to her.
"Jade, was it?" Diego asked, approaching.
"Yeah? How do you know my name anyway?" She inquired, putting her notepad away.
"Spencer." he responds.
"Oh, makes more sense." she nodded. "What's up?"
Diego smiles sheepishly then continues, "Well... I was wondering if..."
.
.
.
In the bathroom, Spencer washed his hands, walking over to the drier and drying them off. The noise was annoying but hey, it worked. When he returned Jade waved him over.
"Alright, now we can go." Spencer began.
"That Diego guy wanted your number by the way." Jade handed him a ripped piece of paper from her notepad.
"He...WHAT." Spencer blurted, looking confused. "How come???"
"Why do you think?" Jade gave him a deadpan stare.
"The tour?..." he questioned, looking to see if she'd confirm.
"You're hopeless.." ....
As soon as they got home, Spencer raced to his room, shutting the door. The piece of paper was clamped in his hand and his hand started to sweat slightly. Number? Why had Diego wanted his number?
Hesitantly, he types the digits in his phone and waits. The number was real since it transferred him to a chat. He thinks for a moment, what to say? He didn't understand why he suddenly felt so nervous. It was just for the tour, right..?
Slowly, he typed the word 'hi'. He stared at it before deleting it, way too dry. Maybe add an extra I? 'hii'. Ew, no. That was too corny and not like him.
"Ill just say.... hey." Spencer says slowly as he typed the word out.
As soon as he sent it he shut his phone off, attempting to do something else to distract himself. He paced around weirdly enough. What actually was the matter with him?? He never acted like this. As soon as he heard his phone ding, he breath got caught in his throat and he immediately returned to his bed, yet hesitant to open his phone and read the message. He'd be slow to type his password in, but soon returned to Diego.
It read..